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Delaware LLC

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Delaware is an excellent state to start a Limited Liability Company in. Business laws are extremely flexible, and the managing members of a Delaware LLC do not have to be citizens of the state. Forming an LLC in Delaware is also very affordable, allowing you to avail of the protections that a limited liability company provides, without having to break the bank.

File an LLC in Delaware

Services start at $69

Advantages of an LLC:

Limited Liability: Owners of a LLC have the liability protection of a corporation. A LLC exists as a separate entity much like a corporation. Members cannot be held personally liable for debts unless they have signed a personal guarantee.

Flexible Profit Distribution: Limited liability companies can select varying forms of distribution of profits. Unlike a common partnership where the split is 50-50, LLC have much more flexibility.

No Minutes: Corporations are required to keep formal minutes, have meetings, and record resolutions. The LLC business structure requires no corporate minutes or resolutions and is easier to operate.

Flow Through Taxation: All your business losses, profits, and expenses flow through the company to the individual members. You avoid the double taxation of paying corporate tax and individual tax. Generally, this will be a tax advantage, but circumstances can favor a corporate tax structure.

Delaware Specific Filing Requirements:

All Limited Liability Companies have to include the words 'Limited Liability Company,' or the abbreviations L.L.C or LLC after their name. Additionally, LLCs in Delaware can include the names of its members, and the words 'Association,' 'Club,' 'Company,' 'Foundation,' 'Fund,' 'Institute,' 'Limited,' 'Society,' 'Syndicate,' 'Trust' or 'Union.'

Limited Liability Companies have to appoint a registered agent that has a physical address in Delaware. This agent can either be a full-time resident, or an entity authorized to do business in Delaware. If an LLC is physically in the state, it can act as its own Registered Agent.

LLCs have to pay an annual $250 franchise tax by June 1st of each year. This applies to all LLCs - foreign or domestic.

Generally filings are completed within 2 weeks* at the state
level, however with rush filing it takes about 1 week*.

Incorporate In Delaware

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Delaware is one of the most popular states to incorporate within, and for good reason. The state has very business-friendly laws and regulations, and is home to over 50% of all publicly traded companies. It can also be much easier to run a corporation in Delaware, especially a larger one, as boards and committees can have alternate members, allowing the business to continue functioning, even if a member is absent. Delaware continue to attract corporate formations, and there seems to be no sign of that stopping.

File a Corporation in Delaware

Services start at $69

Reasons to file a Delaware Corporation:

Delaware is very business-friendly. Not only does it offer incentives specifically to businesses incorporated in the state, but it provides plenty of support and aid.

The executives and directors of the corporation have limited liability for the business's debts and obligations.

The Secretary of State's office offers a variety of expedited services, allowing businesses to incorporate in as little as one hour.

Delaware Specific Filing Requirements:

Though most other states require corporations to have at least one director and two officers, Delaware does not. Delaware corporations can be run by one, single person, who can also be the sole shareholder

Corporations in Delaware have to distinguish themselves as a separate business entity by including a word like 'incorporated' or 'company' in their name. Delaware is very flexible about what distinguisher corporations are allowed to include.

Delaware requires all corporations in the state to have a registered agent that is either a resident of Delaware, a domestic corporation, or a foreign corporation authorized to act as a registered agent.

Delaware Non-Profit Corporation

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Non-profits are an excellent way for philanthropists to use the time-tested and efficient corporate structure to further a charitable pursuit. Non-profits are an untaxed structure as they don't make any money, but are run very similarly to a standard for-profit corporation.

File a Non-Profit Corporation in Delaware

Services start at $69

Reasons to file an Delaware Non profit Corporation:

The corporate structure is one of the most efficient and useful business entities, especially if the business is run by multiple people.

Non-Profit corporations all start as normal corporations before they file for non-profit, tax-exempt status.

Charities that hope to solicit and accept donations should form a non-profit entity and file for tax exemption first.

Delaware Specific Filing Requirements:

Delaware is fairly lax when it comes to corporate naming. A non-profit corporation must distinguish itself as a business entity by including some sort of identifier, like 'Corporation,' 'Co.,' 'Fund,' or 'Society,' but Delaware is very open when it comes to which identifier corporations choose.

Non-profits are charged a discounted annual fee in Delaware

Non-profit corporations will be looked at closely by both the IRS and the Delaware state government, so it is vital that a non-profit's bylaws are carefully written and reviewed.

Delaware Professional Corporation

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Any corporation that is formed to provide some sort of professional service, like medical treatment or financial planning, should be formed as a professional corporation. In fact, most licensing bodies require that professionals regulated by a licensing board adhere to certain statutory roles, and if they choose to form a corporation, those rules require it be a professional corporation.

File a Professional Corporation in Delaware

Services start at $69

Reasons to file an Delaware Professional Corporation:

Delaware Professional corporations are formed so certain licensed professions can provide their services to the public while still availing of some of the legal and fiscal protections of the corporate structure.

Professions that are overseen by a Delaware licensing board have to adhere to different sorts of regulations.

Professional corporations are usually a part of a much larger professional entity, like a law firm, as they help to protect each practitioner from the negligence of other licensed professionals in the office.

Delaware Specific Filing Requirements:

Professional corporations have to contend with stricter naming regulations than other Delaware corporations. The corporate name must contain the words 'chartered,' or 'professional association.' The abbreviation 'P.A.' is also allowed.

Like with a standard corporation, Delaware is one of the few states that allow professional corporation to be formed with only one director, who may also be the sole shareholder. Other officers of the professional corporation do not have to be licensed professionals.

Though Delaware wrote the laws that govern professional corporations to cover any sort of licensed profession, the specific types of professionals that the law covers are accountants, architects, attorneys, accountants, chiropodists, chiropractors, dentists, doctors, optometrists, osteopaths, engineers, and veterinarians.

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State Information:

Delaware is considered a corporate haven ,it has very friendly business laws and, though its corporate tax rate is slightly higher than average at 8.7%, its tax code is very straightforward. Plus the government in Delaware maintains a very useful site with videos on the most common problems faced by those looking to start a small business.

Hiring costs are low, and obtaining licenses and permits is typically straightforward. Delaware also does not levy a sales tax, which attracts shoppers from neighboring states and helps boost retail sales. And that makes Delaware an extremely attractive state to start a business in.
Click here to learn more about starting a business in Delaware.

*State filing turn around times are subject to change without notice. Times listed on our site are accurate at the time of our last update.